Tejas Kitchen Bar Patio — Restaurant in Shreveport

If I could leave NEGATIVE STARS, I MOST CERTAINLY WOULD. My boyfriend and I decided to grab a bite to eat on a Friday night and when we walked in, a hostess seated us at an open booth almost immediately. The hostess also relayed to us that the restaurant was short staffed, but assured us that our waitress (whom she called by the name Ashley) would be with us as soon as possible. About ten minutes pass and we had yet to be greeted or offered water by any staff whatsoever. Then, OUT OF LITERALLY NOWHERE, the bar manager (whose name was later told to us to be Mason)--comes to our table and inquires of us, "hey, you two were here last Saturday, right?" To which both of us responded, "No, NOT, at all!" We actually had been attending a music event that my boyfriend was a part of along with other local artists the previous Saturday. He proceeded to TELL US that we had to have been there the last Saturday because we were seen sitting outside in their outdoor patio area; to which we continued to assert that we WERE NOT AT TEJA'S AT ALL the prior weekend. After he leaves the table, nearly THIRTY ADDITIONAL MINUTES PASS and FINALLY, we were approached by a black chef/cook (whose name we did not get); she told us that we most likely would not be served and that other staff members would not tell us because the other staff THOUGHT we FIT THE DESCRIPTION of a couple who had "dined and dashed" without paying their ticket the previous Saturday!!! After being HUMILIATED and RACIALLY PROFILED, the other staff members (who were primarily white), did not even bother to offer us ANY SEMBLANCE of an apology! This is the most DISGUSTING & DISTURBING restaurant experience I have ever had--and to add insult to injury: this occurred at a restaurant we had FREQUENTLY patronized. I WILL NEVER ATTEMPT TO EAT HERE AGAIN. BLACK PATRONS AND OUR ALLIES--YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Dine here AT...

We found this place by complete accident, but we are so glad we did. Being a Native Texas, this place was like visiting the Texas Embassy in Shreveport. The atmosphere is very cozy and warm, the service was both friendly and helpful from the moment we arrived. The food... The food was truly amazing. We had the Grilled Guac for an appetizer. This was so fresh tasting, it lasted I believe for about 9½ seconds. We ordered the steak and shrimp, soup de jour was cream of potato, and my daughter had the brisket cheese steak. When I say everything was delicious I really mean it. My steak was cooked perfectly, the potato soup had their own twist, and had some amazing flavors marrying cajun and southwest flavors. The brisket cheese steak may have caused a little food envy, and did not disappoint. I also enjoyed a Smokey Rum Old Fashioned, and it was a wonderful addition to my meal. I highly recommend this Restaurant, you will not regret it. Buen Provecho!

Ok, so update: came back Sep 15th for brunch... The buttermilk pancakes, and specifically, the rosemary whipped cream, was probably the best pancake breakfast I've ever eaten. The lady and I went for the mimosa/bloody Mary bar as well. You can mix and build your own, and it is super awesome. The coffee...omg. So if anyone has ever had HEB Brand Casa Ole Houston Blend, that's what this coffee is. It has a touch of cinnamon in it and makes for a wonderful aroma and taste. I am telling you, this place is just a wonderful experience every time....

I really wanted to like this restaurant. The atmosphere is great! Very laid, back space. Tried the queso, steak bites, wings, and queso chicken pasta. The queso was a great consistency. Not much spice tho. We ended up going through all the hot sauces to try to add some seasoning. The steak bites were perfect! Meat was so tender. The wings were good. The pasta was great. Rich texture. Probably one of the best cheese pastas I've had from a restaurant. The chicken was seasoned well. So overall I would give the food a 4 out of 5.

Now the problem was the service. Apparently there's only one waiter. There was a host but she was too busy texting and smoking a vape pen. She didn't acknowledge us but yet went out her way to help the other tables that came in after us. We got one glass of water upon sitting and that's it. No offers of refills. It took over 40 minutes for us to get our food after we placed our order. The waiter was all over the place. It looked like the managers/owners were there but they didn't make any effort to help him.... at least not with our table. I definitely don't want to say there was any discrimination but we were the only non-white customers.... Hopefully they get better staffing and the management takes some sensitivity training because we want to try a lot more off...